Trump says he feels Russia would not re-invade Ukraine, signals conditional U.S. support

President Trump told The New York Times that he felt "strongly" that Russia would not invade Ukraine again and indicated he would be willing to commit the United States to helping defend Ukraine only because of that belief. He was answering whether he would be prepared to go to war to defend Ukraine if Russia broke the terms of a cease-fire; President Volodymyr Zelensky has been seeking security guarantees from Western countries, particularly the United States.

Mr. Trump signaled greater openness to a pledge of support — at least in a supporting role — while saying he believed President Vladimir V. Putin "wants to make a deal." He added, "Let's put it this way: its allies, all of Europe, other countries that are going into it — and the United States." At a Paris summit earlier this week, France and Britain committed to providing troops to dissuade another invasion, a meeting attended by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner that left the extent of American support unclear; Mr.

Witkoff said the group "made significant progress on several critical workstreams," and the Russian Foreign Ministry called the promise of a supporting force "militarization, escalation and further conflict aggravation." Mr. Trump declined to give a timeline or to promise increased U.S.

support if Mr. Putin balked, saying, "I just don't want to be in a position to say that, because I have an obligation to see if I can save lives," and, "We're doing the best we can.

Key Topics

Politics, Donald Trump, Ukraine, Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin